


Blackberry Jam

by mechadogmarron



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Campfire Cooking, Gen, Heart Event, Jam-Making, Pelican Town - Freeform, Slice of Life, foraging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 14:31:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15583995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mechadogmarron/pseuds/mechadogmarron
Summary: The blackberry bushes were bustling with their sweet-yet-tart fruit, with that perfect hint of bitterness that distinguished them from their red-fruited cousins. Jodi, ever fiscally minded, had gone out picking the first day of the season, enough to make a sweet dessert for the whole family from the fresh fruit, sugar, and lime juice; the farmer, Benny, had collected some to give out to the rest of the village. He’d even caught Pierre snacking on a few from the bushes in town.Linus smiled as he finished filling his basket. The sun was just starting to dip in the sky, the air beginning to cool. He’d want to get back to his tent soon — and would even if he wasn’t going to have a guest tonight. Benny had had the kindness to help him find his lost basket, and now he was going to teach the farmer one of his very favorite recipes - campfire jam.





	Blackberry Jam

The blackberry bushes were bustling with their sweet-yet-tart fruit, with that perfect hint of bitterness that distinguished them from their red-fruited cousins. Jodi, ever fiscally minded, had gone out picking the first day of the season, enough to make a sweet dessert for the whole family from the fresh fruit, sugar, and lime juice; the farmer, Benny, had collected some to give out to the rest of the village. He’d even caught Pierre snacking on a few from the bushes in town.

Linus smiled as he finished filling his basket. The sun was just starting to dip in the sky, the air beginning to cool. He’d want to get back to his tent soon — and would even if he wasn’t going to have a guest tonight. Benny had had the kindness to help him find his lost basket, and now he was going to teach the farmer one of his very favorite recipes - campfire jam. He knew, of course, that the farmer had access to the modern preserves jars, and a stove, and all of those conveniences of modern life Linus had largely sworn off, but there was a kind of beauty in doing things the traditional way, and he had a feeling his friend understood that, too. He’d sworn off a cushy office job at Joja to work the land, after all.

He carefully climbed down from the mountain path, leaving the bounty of berries only he knew about for another day. There was enough for several more harvests, even with leaving plenty for the birds and bees he shared the Pelican wilds with. It wasn’t a long trek back to his home camp, and he smiled bright when he saw Benny sitting by the campfire with the single fresh apple, fresh lemon and the jars and lids he’d asked for — though Linus had collected plenty of his own over the years, he would rather not give them away. It was harder and harder to find the ones designed for home canning around; more and more people were simply buying the Joja-brand garbage jam.

“Hey Linus, good to see you! How was the picking?”

“Excellent, thank you for asking. Have your apple trees been fruiting well?” He took a moment to start the fire back up. Better not to burn when he was away.

“They have, and the pomegranates as well! I’ve been thinking about asking the Mayor about planting a public grove. I haven’t had much luck planting from apples, but I had a real bumper crop of blueberries this summer, and I would be delighted to buy some saplings. We could have peaches, cherries, pomegranates, apples…”

“That’s a lovely idea. Out by the lake?”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of room. I go logging out there sometime, and it’s a good place to gather acorns, too. I’m getting a better head for it all. So this canning method of yours, does it work for all fruits?”

“It does. You’ll only need honey, apples, fruit and acid; a little lemon goes a long way. You don’t even need water, necessarily, though of course, you can add a little bit to get a thinner jam. You might want to use some if you have a more sour berry, or less juicy, or if the fruit is especially tough — in that case, just enough to cover them, if even that.”

“Alright. So how much honey do you use?”

“You want about half as much as you have berries, or a little less. Sugar is a little more reliable, I’ve been told, but I like to use what nature provides me, and nature didn’t provide me bags of sugar. I’ve been lucky with wild beehives this year, though. You have to be careful not to overharvest, but they’re an excellent way to put a little sweetness into your life.” He emptied the berries into the pot. “Not yet, though. Half a lemon is probably fine, but I use a full lemon when I can — it helps it thicken. Fruit naturally wants to become jam when it gets hot, given a little help; you don’t need to add anything special! You might be able to get Joja-brand thickeners, but fruit doesn’t need anything like that.”

“What about the apple?”

“Half of it is fine. Apples naturally have a lot of jelling power, so they’re a good addition. Just slice it into thin little slivers like this —” and he demonstrated — “and drop it into the pot with the fruit, and then the honey, then squeeze in the lemon. Then set it over the fire. Now, we need hot water to keep the jars nice, so we’ll also need to set a second pot to get that started. Just fill it with water, drop in your jars, your jar rings — everything but the lids, or the lid rims if you’re using gusset-style lids — and set it over the fire, see?”

“I see. To get rid of germs?”

Linus nodded. “Exactly! Nowadays everyone uses high power soaps and antibacterials, but nature’s given us all we need to provide for ourselves.”

“So now what?”

“We just let them cook for a while. It won’t take as long as some of the modern preservers do, but I like it nice and thick, so we’ll give it an hour or so, just stirring occasionally. Nothing bad will happen if you overdo it, it’ll just be thicker. Nothing bad’ll happen if you undercook it, either — it’ll just be runnier.”

“That’s cool. So it’s flexible?”

“Yup. You can make jam from just about anything if you add some apple. If you don’t like the chunks, you can make a kind of concentrated juice, but I think it has its own charm. Way back in the day, my pa used to make pepper jam… We didn’t have fridges back then, or fruit shipped in by Joja, so it was the only way to have anything out of season, and he couldn’t live without his peppers.”

“Pepper jam, huh? I’ve made some pickled peppers, but I never thought of making jam. Do they taste good?”

“Oh, they’re delicious. They always make me think of the good old days. You know, I think the modern era is actually pretty amazing, but I wish more people would take the time to connect to nature. Especially out here. Even if you can’t come live out in the wild, take some time to do some foraging. Do some gardening. Go camping. Enjoy a day of hiking. Or do whatever works best for you, but I think there’s something beautiful about remembering our roots.”

“That makes sense. You’ve done really well out here. I love your sashimi recipe — I hope you don’t mind that I’ve been sharing the results with half the town!”

“Oh, not at all. I hope everyone here can learn to enjoy Pelican Town’s natural bounty of seafood. We should go out fishing together sometime.” He gave the jam a stir. “So, what are you growing this lovely fall?”

“The blueberries grew so well, I planted a bunch of cranberries - I like how you only have to plant them once, it gives me more time to go fishing and explore the mines. But I’ve got a little bit of everything, I think — some amaranth for Marnie, some fairy roses out by the shrine, some yams, some pumpkins… I’ve heard our soil out here is really good for those, and they can get pretty huge. I’m planning on making some pumpkin pie. I’ll bring some up here when it’s done, if you’d like!”

“That sounds delicious. Do you eat yours plain, or with cream?”

“Oh, it has to have some cream. It’s a shame limes can’t grow around here, I’d love to have a fresh key lime pie. One of those things I miss about the city, ha. I’m glad I moved out here — I went back to the city with Shane a while back to see the game, and I couldn’t _believe_ how nasty it smelled, I forgot how much fresher the air is out here — but there’s the little things, you know?”

“I can believe it. I don’t miss much about from before I became a wild man, but I miss the company. It’s been nice having you out here. You’re not, well, _weird_ about the whole thing. The Wizard’s nice, when I’m down in his neck of the woods, but the people in town don’t like me much. Gus is nice, but he pities me, you know? He doesn’t get that this is the way I want to live.”

“I don’t think I understood it at first, either. But you clearly love it here, you know? I don’t think there’s anything to pity in people following their hearts and doing what’s right for them. When I left, well, some of my coworkers were jealous, but most of them just shook their heads and sighed, like _that boy_ _’s crazy, he’ll be back in two months_. But it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Linus stirred the future jam. Without timers, without a fridge to quick cool a little jam and test the texture, there was no good way of knowing you’d gotten it just perfect, but he had a good instinct for it. “You seem comfortable out here. It’s a good match for you. If you ever decide you want to camp out for a while, let me know — I know all the best places in Pelican Town. I suppose you’re too busy with your fields, though.”

“I usually have a couple days at the end of the season, after everything’s finished growing and picked, when there isn’t enough time to grow more. It might be fun. A few days at the end of summer, catching those last long days… Different topic, but have you ever tried crab pots?”

“I’ve always preferred to line fish. You know me, I love a good plate of sashimi. Maybe some maki, if I can get some rice. It’s not strictly living wild, but I do sometimes pull some out of the garbage, or see if I can’t get some in a trade.”

“I mean, I’m always happy to swap with you when you’ve got a good foraging day. Hell, you’ve taught me so much about living out here, using the materials nature gives to us, I’m happy to pay you back with some of the fruits of my results.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. The best way you can respect what I’ve taught you is to pay it forward. Teach your kids, if you ever have them, you know? Or anyone else who settles out here. Make sure they know how beautiful Pelican Town’s wilds are and just how much they’re worth respecting. I’ve been a lot of places in this life of mine, but I knew the first night I camped out here that it was going to be home.” He smiled.

“It was the same for here. Stopping by the farm, I mean. I was pretty committed already, but I knew — well, the day those first few turnips sprouted, the first time I ate fresh Pelican Town fish, all those little moments. This is home. It’s got to be a beautiful place to forage for a living, too.”

He nodded. “The wilds provide — the rivers here don’t freeze during the winter here, so between winter roots, snow yams, crystal fruits, the fish, and my preserves, not even the worst of it is intolerable. Of course, the hot springs help too. I know you’ve seen me dumpster diving before, but that’s really, well… you know. A few bad days in a row, but more than anything sometimes you just _miss_ that kind of food, and you feel so bad about it going to waste.”

“You know, you can always stop by my place for dinner. I love having guests — just let me know a couple days in advance. Marnie was just over the other day for some clam chowder. Have you ever had that? I can bring some milk and we could try cooking it over the campfire, if you want to go beach picking sometime.”

“That sounds delicious — I might just have to take you up on that. As for dinner at the farm, well, I guess I would be up for it — as long as you visit for some fried mushrooms or roasted hazelnuts, maybe some sashimi. The fresh fish here is amazing — but you would know!” Smiling, he continued to stir. “It’ll start to thicken up on the spoon when it’s removed as it gets more done. I think we’re getting pretty close, so…” He removed the water pot from the fire, adding the can lids. “This way, they get nice and clean.”

“That makes sense. Do you make preserves like this every year?”

“As long as I can get the materials. They’re invaluable to helping me have enough to eat when times are hard, though Pelican Town’s natural abundance goes a long way to that. And they help break up the monotony sometimes. A little bit of jam on fish might sound weird, but it’s actually quite good.”

“I’ll have to try it sometime. You know, fish was so expensive back in the city, but it’s so easy to catch here. A cup of Willy’s fresh trout soup for only 250G — I couldn’t even imagine that kind of price back in the urban jungle. A packet of rice at a JojaMart costs that much!”

“It’s tasty, too, isn’t it? Willy’s a good soul. We aren’t really friends, but sometimes he trades me some for my extra catch.” He took a look at the spoon - yup, it was good and jelled. They’d been shooting the breeze for well over half an hour, and although he might have cooked it a little longer on his own, he didn’t want to keep the farmer out too late, not when they both had places to be in the morning. Taking a pair of makeshift tongs, he removed the jars. “Now all you do is pour the jelly like this, use a nice clean knife to work out any bubbles, and lid them! Then it’s back into the hot water pot, and back onto the fire for another ten minutes or so to make absolutely sure it’s sanitary. If you cook them like these, they’re good on a shelf for a whole year, and it’s so simple.”

“Huh. That’s all it takes?”

“Yup. With these modern lids, they’ve even got a little indicator in the middle that lets you know if they sealed correctly. I don’t always use them — I don’t always have access to them — but they’re safer. For someone like you, who isn’t quite as… off the grid as I am, they should be what you use when you do home canning. It’s a fun way to keep the shelf stocked! Although I suppose you’ve got produce all year round, except for the winter.”

“Yeah. I mostly eat fish and milk and stored stuff when it gets cold. And winter roots, of course. A big plate of roots platter is to die for, if you ask me — I’d do just about anything to get my hands on one. Glad it’s almost time!”

“Ah, do you make it with cave carrots? That’s the way to go, if you ask me. The mines get nice and warm during the winter, too — sometimes when I don’t feel like going out to the spa, I’ll go fishing for lava eels. Of course, you have to toast them before you eat them, but letting them go over the fire for a while and having them in maki, well, I’m not sure there’s a better dish in the world.”

“Yeah, cave carrots and winter roots. I’m sure a little bit of yam would be good, but I’ve never tried them like that. Drizzle a little bit of honey and _mmm-mmm-mmm_ …”

“Oooh, I’ll have to try that.” Linus grinned. “Thanks for coming all the way out here, Benny. It’s been real lively around Pelican since you came to town — you wouldn’t believe how much a difference it’s made. You’re really changing this place. Keep it up, yeah?”

“I will.”

Linus smiled. It wasn’t long before the jam was packed up and the farmer was on his way, but the sense of warmth he brought with him didn’t fade until long into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I wanted to write an extra heart event for Linus, if only as a fanfiction - he doesn't have enough, and he's one of my favorite characters (my first 10-star, before even the character I ended up marrying!) 
> 
> This is based off my experience making jam with fresh picked fruit, although I've never tried to make it over a campfire. Home canning is surprisingly easy, although I do recommend doing it over a stove, not a campfire, and the results are delicious - it's a great way to capture that fresh, perfectly in season taste, especially for farmer's markets or home grown or foraged fruit. We don't need any fancy "Preserves Jar" appliances! :P


End file.
